This study is concerned with developing and determining the reliability and validity of a criterion referenced instrument to quantify data about the participants: (1) response to age-appropriate provocative behavioral situations (birth-36 months); (2) knowledge of child development (birth-36 months) and; (3) selected intervening variables associated with maltreatment of children. The instrument will be based upon the Piagetian theory which views intellect and emotions as two sides of the same coin. Literature supports that certain behaviors of the target age group seem particularly vulnerable to misinterpretation by caretakers due to lack of knowledge about established developmental milestones. It follows, that when the caretaker's interpretation is inaccurate, the response is likely to be inappropriate. The theory will be operationalized by the development of a Likert-type Situational Response scale and a multiple forced choice item Knowledge scale. Shostrom's theory of action-centered and feeling-centered discipline is also essential to the tool. This dicotomy was the basis for scaling disciplinary responses to be rated on the Likert-type scale. The instrument will be administered to a population of Birth Education Class participants in Cecil County, Maryland and to a population of students from selected Delaware high schools. The sample will include 150 respondents from each population; a total of 300 participants. Each of these populations represents a different level of immediacy in terms of future child caretakers. The reliability and validity of the instrument will be established. Relationships between the scores on the Situational Response scale and the Knowledge scale for the participant groups will be discussed as well as the significance of the selected intervening variables.